Metekhi Church (Metekhi) and Vakhtang Gorgasali Statue

Metekhi Church of the Assumption stands on a cliff above the Mtkvari River beside Metekhi Bridge in Old Tbilisi, Georgia. The name Metekhi comes from the Georgian word for 'palace grounds', since the rock was the site of the royal residence founded by King Vakhtang I Gorgasali in the 5th century, when he is said to have moved the capital to Tbilisi. The current church was built between 1278 and 1289 under King Demetre II, replacing earlier buildings, and is a domed cross-in-square structure of brick with a tall drum and blind arcading typical of medieval Georgian architecture. The church is also linked to St Shushanik, the first Georgian martyr. During the Persian and later Russian periods the complex was fortified and turned into a prison, and under Soviet rule the church served as a prison and later as a theatre, a use that ended with the return of the building to the Georgian Orthodox Church. Major restoration took place in the late 20th century to repair the walls and interior. The bronze equestrian statue of Vakhtang Gorgasali, installed in 1967 and made by the sculptor Elguja Amashukeli, stands on the cliff terrace in front of the church and gazes across the river to the Old Town. The ensemble reads as a single scenic viewpoint: church, statue, river and the sulphur bath district opposite. Inside, the church is small and devotional, with candles, icons and recent murals, and it is an active place of worship. The terrace is open at all hours and is a favoured evening vantage point for photographs of the illuminated Old Town skyline, Narikala Fortress and the bridge. Visitors will find a quiet pause here before heading to the nearby Abanotubani district.